PARIS — The long queues in front of leading luxury stores in Paris this weekend might suggest they were holding the high-end equivalent of a Black Friday sale.
But the crowds gathered outside Dior headquarters on Avenue Montaigne, the Guerlain flagship on Avenue des Champs-Elysées or the Chaumet salons on Place Vendôme weren’t looking to part with any cash — just to catch a glimpse behind the scenes of some of the 70 brands that form LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
From Oct. 12 to 14, the world’s biggest luxury group held the fourth edition of its Journées Particulières open-doors event, which gives members of the public worldwide a rare opportunity to meet the craftspeople who make everything from Louis Vuitton handbags to Tag Heuer watches and Berluti shoes.
The event is the brainchild of Antoine Arnault, head of communication and image of LVMH, who launched the biennial initiative in 2011 to counter a perception that the group was only interested in making money. It has steadily grown in size, with this year’s edition drawing a record 180,000 visitors, up from 145,000 in 2016.
Arnault kicked off proceedings with a cocktail party on Thursday at the group’s headquarters, where he posed with his father,